A known rotary compression molding machine includes a rotating die table provided with die bores, as well as upper punches and lower punches that are retained respectively above and below the die bores so as to be vertically slidable. The die table and the punches are co-rotated horizontally, and the upper punches and the lower punches compression mold a powdery material filled in the die bores when passing between upper and lower rolls.
In ordinary production of a product obtained by coating a molded product (uncoated tablet), the compression molding machine initially compression molds the powdery material to mold a molded product, which is then fed to an apparatus different from the compression molding machine, such as a spray coater or a pan coater, so as to be coated.
This method requires a plurality of apparatuses to be installed at a production site. This method also requires the step of feeding the molded product discharged from the compression molding machine to the spray coater or the like.
Devised in view of these was an integral compression molding machine that can compression mold and coat a molded product at one time, like the one disclosed in JP 2012-035289 A.
Production of pharmaceutical products preferably includes coating (masking) for blocking a strange taste (e.g. a bitter taste) or an odor of a tablet (molded product), coating for containing a biologically active substance (e.g. a steroid or an anticancer drug) included in a tablet, coating for protecting a medicine included in a tablet from high temperature, high humidity, or light, or coating for printing on a tablet. Provision of such coating causes problems of the labor, work, and cost.
For masking a bitter taste, particles obtained by spraying a bitter taste masking reagent to a powdery material are compression molded for production of a tablet having a less bitter taste. This method includes coating (masking) the powdery material itself, and thus requires increased labor and work.
Typically, an uncoated tablet is fragile and colorant (ink) applied directly onto an uncoated tablet spreads. Uncoated tablets are thus pretreated by means of sugar coating, film coating, or the like. Conducting such pretreatment causes the problems of the labor, work, and cost.
A tablet is occasionally colored for higher discriminability. Production of such a colored tablet requires compression molding a powdery material mixed with a pigment or the like, or film coating or sugar coating the tablet with a film agent or a sugar coating agent mixed with a pigment or the like, for example.
Provision of film coating or sugar coating causes problems of the labor, work, and cost. Furthermore, provision of film coating or sugar coating affects disintegration of a tablet. The method including such provision of film coating or sugar coating is not applicable to an orally disintegrating tablet.
A tablet preferably includes a less amount of a pigment or the like, which is an unnecessary additive. A tablet produced by compression molding a powdery material mixed with a pigment or the like problematically includes such an unnecessary additive also inside the tablet.